Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

The long wind blows across the fields, creating endless green waves.

In the west, Xiao Haili, Mi Xian, Yuan Lang together with Li Bao, Wei Zhaode, the Zhang brothers, and Hu Yanqing, five naval generals, took over the three states like a hot knife through butter. After reorganizing their troops a little, they sent out cavalry ahead.

The road to the west was a smooth one for them. So far, they had only fought a small battle in Shengji City, which was over in just half an hour. Then the officials in the city opened the gates and surrendered, which made the soldiers who were eager to gain military merit very upset.

On the river, the outer wheels of several sea eel boats were running fast. Li Bao, Wei Zhaode and Hu Yanqing, as part of the vanguard, led the fleet upstream. The waves were roaring, and from time to time they used the wind to sail forward for a while, which was actually faster than the cavalry on land.

Boom boom boom——

The sound of horse hooves hit the ground, and Hu Yanzhuo and Dong Ping, wearing white cloaks, galloped forward with 1,200 cavalrymen. There were more soldiers and horses in the rear, and they were carrying more things, so they moved slower. After all, the march of a large army was not as convenient as that of more than a thousand people like him.

The two generals stood together, both with gloomy faces. Dong Ping suddenly spat while running, "Shit! If this continues, you and I won't get any credit at the end of this battle."

Hu Yanzhuo did not say anything, but had a gloomy face. Seeing that the horses were tired, he immediately issued a military order, and the 1,200-man cavalry slowly slowed down and continued to move forward at a trot.

The roar gradually faded away on the ground, and the horses exhaled hot air and took small steps forward on the ground.

"It seems that many people on the mountain have higher official positions than us." Dong Ping approached Hu Yanzhuo with a dark face and an unpleasant look: "In the end, you and I are still one Wu Meng Lieutenant and one Zhen Wei Lieutenant, what is this!"

He pounded his thigh hard and sighed, "Ah——".

As his warhorse jolted, Hu Yanzhuo adjusted the red battle robe he was wearing underneath his armor and finally spoke: "Brother Dong, you've been acting a lot like Brother Peng Qi these days."

Dong Ping raised his head with a "Huh?" and his face flushed immediately: "Bullshit, when did I become such a chatterbox?"

After a pause, he said, "I just feel unfair. You and I are both capable and have made many contributions, but in the end, we don't even get any reward."

"…It's our fault that Shangguan almost died." Hu Yanzhuo sighed, "It's a blessing that he didn't get rewarded. If it were in the south, even if Shangguan was still alive, you and I would be dead by now."

The sound of horse hooves rang in his ears, and occasionally there was the sound of armor rubbing against each other. Dong Ping was silent for a moment and nodded: "...That's right, those big turbans in the Southern Dynasty are all evil-minded. When I was a general in Hedong, I saw their dirty tricks."

"Yes..." Hu Yanzhuo sighed softly: "You and I are already lucky. Besides, General Xiao also let you and me go first, which clearly shows that he wants you and me to make contributions."

Dong Ping opened his mouth to say something but swallowed it back. If he brought up the past again, he would really be regarded as a person like Peng Qi, and his reputation in the army would be ruined. This was inconsistent with his identity as a romantic double-gun general.

"Don't think too much, you and I should move forward quickly." Hu Yanzhuo cheered up, reached out and touched his arm armor, the cold and hard touch entered his palm, and he squeezed it hard: "No matter what else, there is finally a battle ahead in Xingzhong Prefecture.

You and I both know General Xiao's character. If he makes contributions, he will certainly help me get a reward. Then you and I can escape from this embarrassing situation of being a lieutenant with a miscellaneous title."

Dong Ping also cheered up a bit and rode his horse forward. Not long after, as it got darker, he found a place beside the river to set up camp, echoing the warships on the water from afar.

……

Three miles behind, Xiao Haili took off his cloak and handed it to the guard beside him. In front, Generals Hu Yanzhuo and Dong Ping naturally passed on the military information. Looking through the firelight, they found nothing and gave a few orders: "Let Generals Shan Shiqi and Chen Yun take night duty and tell the Zhang brothers on the water to be alert. The food and grass are all on the boat. Don't let anyone get on it."

The one-eyed man then glanced around, cautiously mixed with a hint of excitement.

The messenger immediately agreed and Xiao Haili sat down. As a former general of the Liao Dynasty, he finally had the power to take revenge on those people. This was a great joy for him, a man who had survived.

The tent curtain was lifted, and Mi Xian's big dark face poked in. "Haven't you rested yet?" He said this and walked in. As his tall figure moved, the candlelight in the tent flickered.

"How come you have time to come to my place?" Xiao Haili smiled, looked at the water bag on the table, picked it up and threw it at him.

Mi Xian grabbed it, pulled out the cork and took a sip amid the sloshing sound of the liquid: "Hiss... good wine!"

He smacked his lips, took another big sip, and then threw the wine back, "I'll let Dong Xian take care of the camp's affairs. He's been in the army for many years, and he does his job well."

"I think you are just a lazy guy." Xiao Haili scolded with a smile, and then his face changed as he held the water bag: "You... You drink so much with such a big mouthful."

Mi Xian laughed, walked over, threw down a bamboo tube, and sat down: "Just now I ran into a messenger outside, and I hijacked him. It was Wang De, Shi Wengong and others."

Xiao Haili stretched out his hand, took it in his hand, twisted it open with a click, poured out the letter, glanced at it, and handed it to him: "He and Shi Wengong, Ma Ling, and Niu Gao have entered the vicinity of Dahua Mountain, just waiting to attack us from the side when we advance."

Mi Xian took it and looked at it carefully, then looked up at Xiao Haili, his eyes rolling: "Are Dong Ping, Hu Yanzhuo and the others about to enter the Xingzhong Prefecture? Maybe they have been spotted by Liao scouts, aren't you worried?"

"What are you afraid of?" Xiao Haili drank the wine in big gulps, with a disdainful expression in his one eye. He wiped his mouth and said, "If there were only 10,000 or 20,000 people in Xingzhong Prefecture, I would be a little worried. But 50,000..."

Gumbling—

He took another sip of wine and exhaled, "Ha——" He said, "Those young men who were dragged to the battlefield are here to disrupt the morale of the army."

"You are full of confidence." Mi Xian blinked and suddenly laughed: "But it's good this way. If you are the commander of this army, your confidence will also influence the whole army. The morale of the army has been high these past two days. I can't wait to fight with the Liao army tomorrow."

Xiao Haili smiled and handed the wine to Mi Xian: "It's best for soldiers to have fighting spirit. Although I'm not in the Liao army now, I've heard a lot about the stupid things brother Xiao Fengxian did. Under such circumstances, if I still let Xingzhong Prefecture turn the tables, I'll give away my other weapon."

"Then you won't even be able to find a bowl to drink from." Mi Xian laughed, handed over the water bag, and stood up: "Depending on the distance, the vanguard may meet the Liao army tomorrow, you and I should rest early."

Xiao Haili blinked his one eye and watched Mi Xian's majestic figure go out, then slowly drank the wine. The personal soldiers outside brought in hot soup, and he scalded his feet before returning to the bed to rest.

The night is long and short, the moon sets and the sun rises in just a moment.

The next day, at noon, on the road leading to Xingzhong Prefecture in the west, a battle broke out unexpectedly as everyone expected. Xingzhong Prefecture, which received a smoke warning from scouts, dispatched 5,000 soldiers and rushed all the way to the place where the black smoke warned.

The 1,200 cavalrymen knew that they were exposed to the Liao army, so they deviated from their route, used the speed of their horses to draw an arc, and rushed in the opposite direction to meet the attacking Xingzhongfu army. The Xingzhongfu army was a mixed bag of good and bad, and the generals in charge tried their best to maintain control of the troops and rushed forward.

The Qi cavalry, with Dong Ping as the spearhead, bypassed the front army and crashed into the team. The Liao general shouted desperately to meet the enemy and tried to stabilize the army to fight back. However, Dong Ping, who had charged into the formation, rushed left and right but ran away after just a little touch. Those with poor martial arts skills were killed by his spear, while those with better martial arts skills blocked his charge and were then killed on the spot by the knights following behind.

Countless horses galloped over the fallen bodies, and the Liao army in Xingzhong Prefecture was divided and defeated again. The commander had to fight hard and flee with hundreds of his core soldiers. This encounter started in a hurry and ended in an even faster time. Hu Yanzhuo and Dong Ping led the cavalry in a crazy pursuit, but the commander of this army still ran back to the city when it was dark.

The provincial governor and the clan general Yelu Dexin stood on the city wall and looked at the torches lit below, which were like a fire dragon swimming in the dark night. They felt a chill in their hearts. They looked at the generals and soldiers who escaped, which were less than one-tenth of the ones who had gone out, and the cavalry wandering outside in the dark night. They looked at each other in confusion for a moment and no one spoke.

Although there were not many torches lit outside and the number of the fleeing soldiers who ran back was no more than a thousand, Yelu Dexin did not dare to bet that there were really a thousand people in the dark. Besides, it was pitch black and there was no place to chase the enemy if they ran away.

He had no choice but to arrange the city defense and send officials from the state down. Yelu Dexin stayed in the city gate tower with his sword engraved with seven stars and fell into a deep sleep in the second half of the night.

The next day, early in the morning, Yelu Dexin was called out from the city wall by the soldiers. He hurriedly put on his combat boots. He didn't even have time to drink a sip of water. He picked up his sword and ran to the city wall, his vision expanding to the surroundings under the daylight.

At the end of the white clouds and green grass, a long black tide rolled in, and the dust it raised covered the sky. It seemed that the army was over ten thousand strong. The faces of the soldiers around them turned pale. They had not experienced the encounter on the field yesterday, but they all looked at the miserable appearance of the returning soldiers. The newly recruited soldiers were even worse. They had never experienced a major war and were so nervous that they didn't know how to stand. They stood there stiffly and felt as if the air was frozen.

Under the huge "Qi" banner, Xiao Haili pulled the reins, and the warhorse slowly paced two steps and stopped, looking at the silhouette in the distance and the dark masses of soldiers around him. After a moment, he said: "Send a message to Mi Xian, let him preside over the siege, and Yuan Lang will lead the cavalry to patrol and assist in the attack.

Order the navy to attack the water fort at the south gate.

Then send a message to the generals Wang De and Shi Wengong in the north, and have them go around the west and attack the city in half an hour."

A messenger responded, "Yes!" and ran out on horseback.

Xiao Haili raised his hand to touch the eye mask on his head and suddenly raised his voice: "Attack the city! Beat the drums, cheer--"

The command flag rustled in the hands of the soldiers nearby, and the siege horn sounded.

Among the Qi army infantrymen who had already lined up and were waiting, Mi Xian looked at the flags behind him and heard the siege horn. He raised his strong arms and waved them forward fiercely: "The commander has given the order, attack the city!"

The war drums in the army sounded at the right time, and the troops were neatly aligned and began to move towards the city wall. In the back, the whirlwind cannons were also erected in the hands of young and strong men and craftsmen. The round stone bullets were transported and piled up. The cavalry on both sides moved forward according to the orders, interweaving and swimming under the city wall, and the cavalry with bows and crossbows aimed their arrows at the top of the city.

Further south, passionate drum beats echoed on the water, stones were thrown and exploded in the Liao army camp before they hit the land, and shouts of killing resounded throughout the Daling River.

On the westward route, the first formal confrontation began.

……

Dading Prefecture.

The sound of drums gathering the troops rang out in the long military camp. Xi Wang Xiamo sat in the commander's seat. A large number of infantry and cavalry in the military camp gathered in the fields amid the roars of the generals. The daily training began with insults.

The general wearing iron armor and a cloak, holding his iron helmet in one hand and pressing the hilt of the sword at his waist with the other, walked quickly into the white tent.

After three drum beats, all the officers and generals in the army who were qualified to join the army finally gathered together. They looked nervously at the gloomy-faced King Xi, not knowing why he suddenly beat the drum to gather the officers.

"The Qi army in the north is coming fast. We received news the other day that Enzhou and Huizhou have been captured, and the Qi army's vanguard will soon move south." Xia Mo listened to the drumbeats, put his hands on the table, and looked at the faces in the tent: "There is no time to continue to organize your army. If you don't annihilate the Qi people in the wild, when they come south, I don't know how many people will die under their attack."

The generals standing in the tent all had blank expressions on their faces, and no one could see anything unusual on their faces.

He stood up, looked at the bald generals, and walked to the center of the tent: "Those present are the best among the Khitan, Xi, and Bohai people. You must have read in books how the ancestors of the Han people lived..."

He glanced at the disapproving looks on the faces of the generals, snorted in his heart, and changed his tone: "Let's not talk about whether Qi will act as recorded."

He patted his luxurious clothes and armor, and then plucked the battle robe of the bald general beside him: "Look at what you are wearing, think about what is used in the mansion, and think about what your wife is wearing. Which one is not difficult for ordinary people to have? If the Qi State seizes this country..."

He looked around at all the generals and asked, "You and your families, can you continue to enjoy luxurious clothes and delicious food as you do now? Doesn't Lu Bu have any meritorious officials who need to be rewarded?"

The generals in the tent showed some hesitation on their faces and looked at each other.

"That makes sense."

"Too……"

"That's right."

A buzzing sound of whispers rang out in the military tent. Xia Mo had never felt that the whispers between generals were so pleasant to the ears. He immediately smiled, turned around, strode back to his position, and swept the bamboo tube containing the command arrow to the ground.

bang-

pop-

The bamboo tube jumped twice on the ground and rolled away with a sound. The fish-shaped command arrows were scattered all over the ground. Xia Mo raised one hand and said, "Now, I, Xia Mo, swear in the name of the gods that this time I am going north to fight against Qi State not for my own glory, nor for promotion, but only to let my clan members and the children and women in my family have a stable life. I am going north to fight as a clan leader and a man, and we..."

The suddenly raised voice made the generals in the tent straighten their chests: "We will fight the Qi army, defeat them, and drive them out of this fertile land!"

The generals standing around looked at each other and there was silence for a few moments. Suddenly, someone clenched his fist and waved his arm.

"For ourselves, we must win!"

Many people's faces changed, they gritted their teeth, and waved their hands: "We will win!"

A louder voice burst out: "We will win!"

Xia Mo nodded in satisfaction, and reached out to pick up the sword beside him: "Victory will surely belong to us. Let's organize the army now and send out the troops in two hours to start the war--"

A loud voice broke through the tent, and the generals filed out, followed by the sound of war drums and trumpets. A large amount of prepared supplies began to gather, and the infantry and cavalry gathered at the shouts of the messengers in the army, and then waited for the arrival of the generals.

A scene of war and iron cavalry. (End of this chapter)